(NewsNation) — The Department of Homeland Security issued new guidance Tuesday for stateless noncitizens in the United States.
This new guidance clarifies when, and how, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can consider a noncitizen “stateless” for the purpose of deciding immigration benefits or other requests.
Now, USCIS will create and implement new procedures to assist its officers when determining if someone is stateless. This includes:
- Updating existing training documents on statelessness
- Developing more robust training procedures for officers
- Setting up standard operating procedures for officers to request an internal assessment of potential statelessness where it may be relevant to an individual’s application or benefit request
Specially trained USCIS personnel will give the deciding officer an advisory report, explaining how they might consider an individuals’ statelessness when making decisions about their applications or benefit requests.
The new guidance also gives examples of the kinds of documentation or evidence that can help USCIS officers determine statelessness.
Stateless individuals, as defined by DHS, are those who are not legally considered a citizen of any country. That means they can be denied a legal identity, the agency said in news release, and struggle to gain access to education, health care and job opportunities.
Statelessness can happen in a number of ways: people can be born stateless or become that way because of discrimination, war and conflict, or changing borders and laws, DHS said.
About 218,000 peole are estimated to be stateless or potentially at risk of statelessness across all 50 states in America, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“All over the world, people who are stateless live with fear and uncertainty. DHS is fully committed to addressing the global issue of statelessness and to breaking down barriers that these individuals face in the United States,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement. “With this historic step, stateless individuals will be given the opportunity to apply for immigration protections and benefits for which they are eligible.”